Hoysala Temples in World Heritage List

Why in news?

Recently, 3 Hoysala-era temples were added as to UNESCO’s World Heritage List thus becoming the 42^nd site from India.

What is UNESCO World Heritage Site?

• World Heritage Site (WHS) – These are the sites are designated as having “outstanding universal value” under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
• It was adopted by UNESCO in 1972 and formally took effect in 1975.
• The list of WHS is maintained by the International World Heritage Programme, administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
• The 3 types of site are Cultural, Natural, and Mixed.

What is the procedure for including a site in the WHS list?

• Selection criteria - To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of 10 selection criteria of UNESCO.
• Only countries that have signed the World Heritage Convention can submit nomination proposals for properties on their territory to be considered for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
• Tentative List – The first step a country must take is to make an ‘inventory' of its important natural and cultural heritage sites located within its boundaries, known as the Tentative List.
• The World Heritage Committee cannot consider a nomination for inscription on the World Heritage List unless the property has already been included on the State Party's Tentative List.
• Evaluation- A nominated property is independently evaluated by
  • The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
  • The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
  • The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
• Deciding authority - Once a site has been nominated and evaluated, it is up to the intergovernmental World Heritage Committee to make the final decision on its inscription.

What constitutes the Sacred Ensembles of Hoysalas?

• It includes 3 temples- Chennakeshava temple (Belur), Hoysaleswara Temple (Halebidu), and Keshava Temple (Somanathapura) of Karnataka.

What makes Hoysala architecture stand out?

• Unique confluence of styles – These temples are amalgamation of three distinctive temple styles prevalent in India.
  • Dravidian style represented in Pallava and Chola temples
  • Vesara style, the variant of the Dravida style that emerged in the Chalukya and Rashtrakuta temples
  • Nagara style of North India
• Construction material – The use of soapstone, a malleable stone has made it easy to carve and contributed to abundant intricate sculptures on the temple walls.
• Elevated platforms – The temples are generally built on stellate (star-shaped) platforms.
  • Kesava temple in Somanathapura is built in the shape of a 16-point star.
• Beautiful Sculptures – The sculptures themes include animals, scenes of daily life, as well as depictions from the epics and the Puranas.
• It demonstrates their creativity in translating religious beliefs and stories into sculpture.
• Differentiated Pillars – The total number of pillars in Chennakesava temple at Belur is 46.
• All of them, except the four in the central bay are of different designs.
• Signed temples - The temples are given with information of the sculptors and masons who were involved in its construction.
• Religious significance – These Vaishnava and Shaivya shrines were built at the time Jainism was prominent in the region.
• It thus mark a turn towards Hinduism.
• Social significance – The jewellery, headgear, clothes, etc. of the detailed sculptures give an idea of the society of the times.
• One of the sculptures, Darpana Sundari (lady with the mirror), is modelled on Shantala Devi, the queen of Vishnuvardhana who had the built the Chennakesava temple.
• Other details– No known monuments other than temples, like palaces or forts, survive from the Hoysala period.
• The non-temple buildings were all built in either mud or brick or wood and not stone.
• So, except for some ruins in Hampi, nothing has survived in the form of architecture of Hoysalas.

References

1. IE| Hoysala Temples as World Heritage Site
2. IE| Sacred Ensembles of Hoysalas
3. UNESCO| World Heritage List in India